


and ever since the seventh grade i learned to fire-breathe

by soulsolid



Category: Brave (2012), Disney - All Media Types, How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of The Brave Tangled Dragons - Fandom, Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BIG FOUR SUPPORT NETWORK BABY, Banter, Friendship, Gen, Late Night Conversations, Male-Female Friendship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Prompt Fill, Swearing, also some reckless driving, the other half of the quartet werent in for the ride but at least theyre there in spirit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28563903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulsolid/pseuds/soulsolid
Summary: “Look, I’m okay. This is all unnecessary.” Hiccup’s hand does an illustrative gesture to the side that conveys absolutely nothing, “...I just had a rough day.”“Yeah, but you've never done it at this hour,” Merida says flatly. “It’s almost bloody midnight, Hiccup. Did your parents have a fight or something?”-(or: Hiccup and Merida go for a night drive.)
Relationships: Hiccup Haddock III & Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood) & Merida (Disney) & Rapunzel (Disney), Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Merida (Disney)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	and ever since the seventh grade i learned to fire-breathe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iamlongstockings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamlongstockings/gifts).



> this is a flower prompts fill for therearedragonsindunbroch on tumblr, who asked for Merida and Hiccup + the flower “Yarrow” _(cure for a broken heart)_. i know this isn't included in the request, but i hope you enjoyed the OT4 energy in this as well :)

It had been an offhand comment, really, when Hiccup told their group chat that his mom is back in town and couldn’t afford the time to stay for dinner.

Which isn’t even up there in their Top 5 Crisis Scale (Five being anyone asking for Rapunzel’s birth records and Two being Jack having an attack), but the tone of the message is definitely a legitimate cause for concern. Hiccup is always _elated_ when his mother comes home for a visit, no matter the circumstances. Him being flippant about it is a red alert for everyone.

What’s even worse is that there’s only one person at this hour who’s available to check on him, and she’s the least... _suited_ for this sort of emergency.

“Ye want me to do _what,_ ” Merida hisses into the phone.

“Come on, Bush Head,” Jack says through the static, phone probably wedged between his ear and shoulder if the hectic sound of a whiny Sophie being carried in his arms is any indication. “You know I’d come with you too if I could, but my hands are literally full right now. Just do it this once.”

“Goddammit. What do I even have to _say_.”

“I don’t know, dude, just—be there for him, maybe? I know you’ve got the wrong set of mommy issues for this—”

“ _I will literally end this call_.”

“—but it’s better to have a talking, human company than that damn cat, right? Or just have him talk it out. You can just listen or whatever.”

Merida considers it for a moment. “So you mean, like what ah did whenever ye threw a bitchfit or started a sulking spree in front of me, and we bought some slurpee in-between.”

The other side of the call falls into an embarrassed pause. “...I guess?”

Merida stops in the middle of pocketing her wallet, blinking in disbelief. “So those stuff helped? I mean, me listening?”

“Well, the part where you paid for the slurpee helped big time, so yeah, su—”

“Oh, sod off, Frost!”

Jack does this hoarse, whispery laugh that can only mean Sophie has fallen asleep. “No, but for real though, it’ll probably work. With Hiccup, I mean.”

There’s a longer pause where Jack seems to be putting Sophie to bed, and Merida makes a silent promise to get to the bottom of the “If The Slurpee Helps” conversation some other time. Jack is a slippery snake when it comes to being honest about himself. Hiccup is a tough nut to crack too, now that she thinks about it—

“No, wait, nevermind about the talking it out part. You shouldn’t force him. Do the reverse slurpee instead, like,” the sound of a snapped finger like he’s suddenly struck with an idea. “How about letting him vicariously watch you rage about whatever is it he’s moping about? And then you can ask him to buy you food. As compensation.”

Stopping in front of the family’s key bowl, Merida gapes. “Shit lad, that actually sounds brilliant. Not going to happen, but brilliant. And too smart coming from you. Did ye talk with Punz before this?”

“And if I am?” Jack says, affronted.

“I’ll tell her you’re stealing her idea.” 

“Stealing my butt. That was mine and I’m patenting it.”

Merida grins as she swings open the front door. “ _Butt?_ ”

“Gotta censor myself in front of the kids,” Jack mutters. "Wait. Do I hear a door opening? Did I just convince you to leave your room on a Friday night by myself?" 

“I’ve already changed my clothes before you even called, fool. I was actually going to pick you up until you said you can't."

"Aww, so you do care about our friend.” Merida can _hear_ his shit-eating grin from here. “Sometimes I forgot you’re a softie on the inside."

"You said it yourself, it's _weekend_. Haven’t you realized?” Merida huffs as she jogs towards their driveway, where her father’s car is parked. “What else would that moping twat's going to do if we leave him to angst alone on a Friday night?"

Just like that, Jack’s kid-friendly filter goes down the drain. 

Merida nods, "Exactly."

Over the roar of the engine coming to live, Jack says, “Remember, be gentle about it! And don’t force him!” 

But Merida already ends the call.

**X** **X** **X**

Even though her last conversation with Jack has encouraged her, Merida still isn’t one hundred percent sure she’s up for this. No matter how many times Jack and Rapunzel persuade her—and Punzie will surely try to persuade her through a call soon—she is admittedly the last person equipped to deal with a sad Hiccup. The last person equipped to deal with a sad _person_ , period.

Bullying Hiccup out of his solo joyrides is easy; it’s the part where she has to get him to talk about what happened and make him feel better after that’s bugging her. And talking has never been one of Merida’s stronger points. Maybe that’s why Jack at first suggested she listens instead, but will Hiccup even open up to her? There are things that rarely get talked about between them for a reason. Like how Hiccup’s mom is slowly becoming a stranger to him, and how these days it’s getting harder for the boy to bridge that gap. 

(Here’s a secret: Hiccup and Rapunzel have a secret language between themselves when it comes to estranged, distant mothers. Merida has no place in that.)

And because of that, Merida is the wrong person for this—the wrong set of mommy issues, really, though even when hard-pressed she still wouldn’t admit that to anyone’s face—but Rapunzel’s out of town and Jack already has his hands full with babysitting tonight. Merida’s all he’s got now. 

The digital clock on her dashboard blinks 11.04 PM when Merida pulls up in front of the Haddocks’ residence. The entire street is quiet, but Hiccup’s garage door is half-open, a dim yellow glow spilling from the gap. A lone shadow moves behind the door, cutting across the light. Merida unbuckles her belt and quickly jogs towards the garage, hoping her bright green (Rapunzel-knitted) sweater is enough to make any surveilling neighbor not mistook her as a burglar. 

Hiccup is in the middle of a call when she silently ducks into the garage, back facing her and already in his riding gear; one hand awkwardly cupping a phone that’s wedged into his helmet. The speaker is loud enough for her to catch Rapunzel’s soft lilt from the other side of the line. The brunette is probably trying to get Hiccup to stop ghosting them all after the bombshell he dropped in their group chat this evening and _talk_ , but Merida can tell from Hiccup’s firm tone that Rapunzel is gradually losing.

Merida looks around the space—it’s ugly and messier than ever, all of Hiccup’s experimental junks and tools cluttering all over the working table and even taking space at the back. The dim lighting hinders her sight a bit (Merida has a hunch he chose the yellow bulb because the white one would make his departure more obvious), but she eventually finds his motorcycle on the corner, all black and red and shiny, the keys already in ignition. She’s right on time. 

Hiccup ends the call with a quiet _sorry, Punz, but I need to be alone right now, talk to you later_ , turns, and promptly jumps at the sight of Merida standing right behind him.

"Wha—where did you come from?!"

"Ma house," Merida answers brightly. "The traffic was pretty lax, actually, wasn't expecting to get to yer house this fast too."

"What?"

"I borrowed me dad's car," Merida tilted her head towards the gap below the garage door, where Fergus DunBroch's shiny gray car can be seen a few meters away.

“No, I mean, why are you—” he trails off. Except for his helmet’s open visor, Hiccup’s face is perfectly concealed from view. This means Merida is a few seconds late at recognizing the moment his mind connected the dots.

Hiccup sighs. Heavily. “Did you three planned this? To stop me from riding my own damn bike during my free time?"

“No,” Merida says steadily; already practiced the line during the car ride for this. “But we do think it's better to not use your bike when you're definitely _not_ in the condition for it right now.” 

_You’ve spent too much time inside your head already._ Merida bites her tongue and curls it behind her teeth; doesn’t trust herself to be able to say it gently. _At this rate you’re going, you might even crash. You’re already hurting now, we don't want to see you hurt even more._

Hiccup crosses his arms. Prickly and all edges. “And _you’re_ the one who came here to tell me all about it, huh?”

Merida groans, noticing the hypocrisy of her previous statement when it’s _her_ —the angry adrenaline junkie of the group—who said it. Knowing the muttonhead is going to be stubborn about this, she switches tactics.

“You know that Punzie's visiting Eugene's parents' house in the middle of whoknowswhere, right? and Jack was about to join us too, but Jamie's mom suddenly called in with an overnight shift tonight so he had to babysit him and Sophie in their house again. That’s why I came alone.”

The stern gaze, framed by the open black helmet, falters. "Oh."

"Yeah.” Merida nods, trying for a joke. “I'm the only one left to hold the fort now."

Hiccup’s brows immediately furrow at that. Ah, wrong thing to say. “Come on, hold the fort? Aren’t you guys overreacting too much? I appreciate the collective concern, but I can handle myself, it’s just a ride.” pushing his visor back into place with an audible _click_ , Hiccup turns back to his motorcycle. “You three know I’ve done it plenty of times before.”

“Yeah, but all those times we always know the reason why you did it.” Merida grabs his shoulder to stop him and looks at him dead in the eye, trying to burn her gaze through the stupid helmet. “So what’s the reason this time?”

Hiccup flinches and turns his head away, avoiding her stare.

“See what I mean?

Stubbornly keeping his gaze aside, Hiccup gently—because even at his most resentful Heidrick Haddock still remembers to be polite and chivalrous, apparently—takes her hand off his shoulder. Merida glares up at him. 

Jack might have told her not to use force, but the thing is, the Haddocks are a unique bunch—and this is coming from _Merida_. Heidrick (affectionately called ‘Hiccup’ by friends and family) is an AP student who captains the school’s robotic club since their sophomore years and juggles his time between backyard science experiments, playing with his cat and modifying the Ducati-manufactured Night Fury he salvaged from the city dumps when he’s fifteen. Hiccup’s dad works for the city hall, spends his Wednesday nights standing toe-to-toe with Fergus DunBroch at bowling, and during daylight practically runs the city next to the governor. His mother is a paleontologist who bounced between leading the local library committee and running field researches on Icelandic coasts, and thus is largely absent. The family cat, Toothless, is a three-legged mammal from hell and a living wonder to the veterinary community.

Merida has no idea where to even begin with this. Does she start by asking about his dad, like usual? Is Toothless having problems with his prosthetics again, and that’s why Hiccup has that frustrated look on his face? Or is it really his mom this time, having an overdue fight with his dad? The problem with dealing with Hiccup is that almost half of the _city_ knows about his family thanks to each member being stellar in their own niche; any problems related to Valka Haddock could easily turn into a scandal if the public wants to. Hiccup needs the protection if it comes to that, but he’s not going to get any if he doesn’t _talk_. 

“Look, I’m okay. This is all unnecessary.” Hiccup’s hand does an illustrative gesture to the side that conveys absolutely nothing, “...I just had a rough day.”

“Yeah, but you’ve never done it at _this_ hour,” Merida says flatly. “It’s almost bloody midnight, Hiccup. Did your parents have a fight or something?”

At that, Hiccup instantly straightens, body fully turning toward her. “What? No! It’s nothing like that!”

Merida squints at him. “But something happened. What is it?”

Hiccup groans and leans back on his bike, fingers nervously tap-tapping the seat, the tilt of his head telling Merida that he’s looking hard at the ceiling. At six foot one, clad in black leather jacket and mini braids peeking from under his metallic helmet, Hiccup could’ve been an intimidating sight for those who don't know him. But all Merida sees is her nerd best friend, troubled and clamming up and trying his best to not tell her anything.

It’s time to switch to threats. “You know that I’ll have no other choice but to draw my own conclusions if you don’t tell me anything, right?”

A gruff mumble could be heard from behind the helmet.

“Oi,” Merida says, ticked. “Take that thing off when I’m talking to ye.”

Hiccup sullenly does as he’s told, revealing a messy, half-flattened helmet hair and a close-lipped scowl. “You won’t,” he repeats.

“I will,” Merida challenges. After a proper look at his face for the first time since she came into the place—a taut stubbornness on his jaw, but also _sad,_ somehow — Merida finally softens her voice. “Look, lad, ah just need to know what made ye like this. Clear yer mind and think about it. Ye _know_ getting on a bike when yer head’s like that won’t do ya any good.” she takes a breath, “So, just tell me who ah should beat this time already.”

That draws a long sigh from Hiccup. “I’m afraid this isn’t seventh grade where we can just solve things with a punch, Mer.”

“Why not?”

“Because.”

“ _Hiccup_ ,” Merida whines, at her wit’s end.

Hiccup avoids her eyes again, arms crossing and uncrossing as he tries to search for words. The silence stretches inside the space, seconds to a full minute to more minutes, until it finally dawns on Merida.

She claps her hands together sharply. “Ya know what, this won’t do. We’re getting nowhere in here!”

Hiccup jumps at the sudden noise and throws his hands up, frustrated. “Like I said, this isn’t a problem you can just _punch!_ ”

“Get in the car,” Merida snaps, jerking her thumb to the car outside.

“I—What?” 

“Yer still getting your midnight joyride, but _I’ll_ be the one driving.” She finally composes herself. “Also, I’m hungry. We’re getting burgers.”

It is a testament to their long friendship that Hiccup doesn’t appear _too_ fazed by Merida’s spontaneous planning.

“...Let me guess,” Hiccup awkwardly shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket to ground himself, and throws a sardonic eyebrow in her direction. “I’m paying?”

“No,” Merida says, surprising the both of them. “I am.”  
  


**X** **X** **X**

“Okay,” Hiccup says after reluctantly climbing into the passenger seat. “Can somebody tell me why you’re my uber driver for the evening, and why am I accepting it.”

Merida rolls her eyes. “Ya won’t even talk to me, so it’s pointless for me to stay in that cursed garage all night. But I still cannae let ye off outside to become roadkill too. This balances things out.”

Hiccup quirks a brow. “And that balance includes… burgers?”

“I get hungry after making hard choices.”

“For some reason I’m not surprised.”

Merida throws him the stink eye before turning her head to see the back and putting the car into reverse. Once they’re settled, she pushes the button to roll the windows down.

Hiccup, who’s been resignedly leaning his forehead against the windows, leans back in surprise.

“The night air feels nice,” Merida says while fiddling with the AC controls, suddenly embarrassed. “...You’ve said before that you like how ‘the wind feels around you’ when on the bike or something like that, right?”

“Didn’t you once say you like to ‘let my hair flow into the wind as I— _oof_.”

“That was my dad who said it!” Merida pulls back her arm after punching his, huffing. “Okay, look. Here are the rules. One, you are free to speak your mind inside this car and I won’t interject, unless it’s something stupid. Two, I will let the windows down the whole time. Three, I will also let you play some music the whole time, unless it’s that mindless Norwegian punk rock that makes me want to melt my brain. And lastly, I will get us to the farthest burger joint my dad’s car can take us, and when we get there, you will _eat_ what I bought you and you will be _grateful_. Any questions?”

“That sounds more like a series of threats than rules. Ow! Okay, question!”

“Speak.”

“Can that be the last punch I will get tonight?”

Merida pouts. “Fine.”

“Thank you,” Hiccup does a tiny bow in his seat. “And may I have another request, please?”

Getting out of that cursed garage, and away from that conversation, has proven effective. Something has dissolved inside Hiccup, and he’s acting more like himself again. Less edged. Not burdened anymore. Annoying and snarky in that goofy way Merida is more familiar with. Merida takes note of the relaxed shoulders with relief and matches the tiny, mischievous smile on Hiccup’s face as he gives in to the privilege.

(Because everybody knows it’s a damn privilege to have Merida DunBroch voluntarily do your asking.)

“Please don’t drive like a granny.”

“Wha—” Merida lifts a brow, enraged. “Is that a feckin’ challenge?”

Hiccup leans back into his seat and laughs, his first one of the night. “If you think it’s difficult enough to be one.”

The bastard is already looking at his phone, trying to connect to the car’s bluetooth speaker as if he hasn’t just deliberately taunted her driving skills. Merida turns to look at the road out front, hand moving to the gearstick, and decides to prove to Hiccup that he’s not the only one out of them four who can handle _fast._

“Seatbelt on, Haddock.”

**X** **X** **X**

So far, the plan is going well.

Hades’ Wings is a 24-hour joint located all the way across the city, at the outskirts of Olympus Hills. Ideally, it takes almost one and a half hours to get there, and the GPS specifically pinpoints the inner-city highway access near Hiccup’s neighborhood as the only path for them to get there in that time span. After tiding Hiccup in with a promise of good iced coffee (“Eugene’s friend Megara used to work there. Trust me, she’s said it herself!”) Merida takes a left turn after the second green light and enters the highway. She hopes Hiccup will treat the whole thing as a small adventure, too; after all, there’s always something exciting about traveling to places you’ve never visited before at night, even if it’s just a chicken wing restaurant infamous for its spicy wings.

The trip for the most part is almost peaceful;the road ahead of them practically empty _._ Outside the open windows, the distant city lights pass by in a blur of man-made constellations, looking ephemeral against the endlessly dark road and the glare of the car’s headlights. 

On her right, Hiccupーstill not saying what's wrong, but more relaxed the farther they get away from his houseーis staring out the car with fingers over the glove box, quietly tapping along to the music he’s chosen for the speaker; some kind of an alternative-rock act, turned down to almost half of its volume so the dark, thumping bass and heart-tugging keys don’t drown out the ambiance of the car ride. The 12 AM air whips at their hair, fresh and electrifying, the smell of damp asphalt and _nighttime_. It goes straight into Merida’s lungs, joining the slow drop of music in her pulse and making her heart feel like it’s expanding, like she’s suddenly confident she can do anything tonight.

All of a sudden, sitting there gripping the steering wheel with her best friend beside her feels _great_.

Hiccup's mood seems to get better too. He starts snarking about Merida’s fifty-five miles-per-hour pace, saying that this is what he meant by granny driving, which gains him a scrunched walmart receipt (found in her pockets) thrown at his head.

(after all, she only promised not to hit with her fist.) 

“Rule number five,” she yells through the blaring hum of a cargo truck that they pass over, a ripple of laughter in her voice. “Just because you’re a _hoodlum_ who goes over the speed limit on a weekly basis doesn’t mean I could just go over and do the same for ye!”

“Coward,” Hiccup theatrically booms, sending Merida to tighten her grip on the wheel as she dissolves into giggles. “I thought you were my uber driver! This calls for two stars.”

In the background, the speaker switches to a new song, something hopeful and light.

“I’m serious!”

“Me too!” Hiccup leans across the space like he's sharing trade secrets, “Y’know, I used to go sixty to seventy around here, easily. Plus these parts are always empty since evening. ”

“Yer dad works for the bloody city hall. Even if ya get caught, of course it’s gonna go smooth for ye!”

“Your mother works for the city hall too, Merida. Hell, they’re _coworkers_.”

In fact, it’s also the reason why there have been no conversations about each parent's potential say about their excursion. Both Elinor and Stoick had to stay at the office tonight, leaving their teenage children enough freedom to do... _this_. 

“I mean, just a thought, but it never occurred to me that you would pass the opportunity to try it when we practically have the whole highway for ourselves.”

“Fine!” riled up by his words, Merida floors it all the way to _sixty-five miles per hour_. The wind enters the car like a punch, a torrent of violent breeze that blows back Merida’s red curls onto the back of her headrest and empties something heavy inside her chest. She and Hiccup whoops in unison, the world outside a blur while the singer in the speaker sings through the rising beat, untethered—

An incoming call flashes on Hiccup’s phone screen, interrupting the bluetooth speaker and ending the moment.

Merida gradually slows down the pace at the glow of the screen, already feeling guilty, but also internally cursing it for interrupting. Hiccup has just started opening up to her. Her chance to start asking what made him so upset is gone now. "Who's calling you at this hour?"

She has two guesses.

“ _Hello?_ ” Rapunzel’s luminously soft voice projects into the car as Hiccup puts the call on speaker. “ _Hiccup? Is it okay to talk with you right now?_ ”

“Er, sure,” Hiccup blinks rapidly, eyes not-so-subtly glancing at Merida. “I mean, yeah, we can talk now, but not _talk_ talk—”

“He’s with me right now, Punz,” Merida leans across the gearshift to get her voice as clear as possible, “Hi.”

“ _Merida?!_ ”

“Eyes on the road, DunBroch,” Hiccup mumbles, warily looking at the way she's leaning.

“ _Oh, so you’re with Merida right now! That’s good!!”_ Rapunzel sounds relieved. “ _She didn’t answer any of my calls so I thought she was sleeping._ ”

“My phone’s on mute,” Merida cringes apologetically. “Sorry Punz, I was going to his house right then.”

Another strong breeze blew by, tousling their hair and making Merida had to blow away a stray curl from her eye. Hiccup points at the phone and mouths, _should we close the windows?_ But it’s too late.

“ _It’s okay! Are you guys outside right now? I can hear the road.”_

“Yeah, er, we—Merida wants to get burgers.”

Merida has no ammunition left, so she settles for a glare at Hiccup for throwing her under the bus. 

_“In this hour?”_ Rapunzel almost sounds worried. “ _Why not get a delivery instead? And I thought you didn’t want to eat anyth_ —"

Another incoming call suddenly enters the phone screen. Hiccup shows the caller’s ID to Merida and they both sigh.

“Hold on Punzie, I’ve got another call coming. But we’ll get back to you later, okay?”

_“Alright!_ ” Rapunzel chirps as Hiccup’s thumb hovers over the new number. “ _It’s probably just Jac_ —"

_“Hey, Haddock."_ Jack’s deep voice rang through the car, cheerful. _‘"Sup. Just checking in.”_

“We were just talking to Punz, you ingrate,” Merida loudly calls from her seat, eyes now focused on the road. “Don’t interrupt.”

_“I see Bush Head’s successfully bullied you into letting her stay. What are you guys up to now? Hold on.”_ there’s a pause as if Jack is checking his hearing. _“Are you actually_ driving _right now?_ ”

“Merida’s dad lets her borrow his car, and we’re going to get burgers now,” Hiccup explains. “She’s the one driving, by the way.”

_“Oh my god."_ Jack sounds excited. _"Merida, did you actually do the Reverse Slurpee?!”_

“What’s a Reverse Slurpee?” Hiccup asks, confused.

“We. Did. Not. Do. The Reverse Slurpee,” Merida bites. “This is just so Hiccup can still go outside without ending as roadkill.”

“ _Wow. Okay, that actually kinda sounds better than the Reverse Slurpee_ —”

“What _the fuck_ is a Reverse Slurpee.”

“— _that way the dumbass can still get to blow off some steam without risking injury, because there's someone on the lookout for him. Good thinking!”_

“Hello, hi. Just confirming that I’m still here,” Hiccup says drily, one hand up as if he’s on a roll call. Both Merida and Jack burst into laughter. 

_“We’re just looking out for you, bud,_ ” Jack finally says, voice full with that infuriating earnestness that Merida can never copy. “ _You’re not obligated to share anything, but it’s better to not be alone when you got us to lean on, yeah?_ ”

“Yeah,” Hiccup ducks his head even though physically there’s only Merida beside him, her eyes never leaving the road. “I got it. Thanks.”

“ _How are you holding up right now? Feeling any better even with Bush Head’s there?_ ”

“Yeah, actually,” Hiccup’s green eyes slide across the dashboard to meet hers, and Merida holds back the urge to cuss Jack out again. Hiccup gives her a small smile, one she returns gladly. “I’m... I’m actually feeling fine now.” 

_“ **T** **hat’s great**_ ,” Both Merida and Jack say at the same time.

“Look,” Merida speaks up once it’s clear Hiccup is way too overwhelmed to continue. “Let’s set up a three-way call on your phone. Rapunzel’s been waiting long enough there.”

The process to set it up took five minutes, with Jack being unhelpful and Merida hissing at him to shut up. When Hiccup finally merged Rapunzel and Jack’s call this time, the overall mood of the car suddenly feels brighter, different than that fleeting feeling of freedom Merida had moments ago. Like the night is finally complete with their voice.

“How’s Umbra, Punz?”

_“Dark,”_ Rapunzel answers seriously. “ _I can hardly see the stars from here. But the town is also charming, in its own way? Eugene’s dad is very kind too._ ”

_“What the hell, I forgot he took you to meet his dad. That means I'm the only one stuck at home here,”_ Jack whines.

“You’ve finished with babysitting, Jack?” Hiccup asks, fiddling with the radio for another round of song, stopping at the first station that sounds the clearest. Merida’s starting to think he just needs the background noise.

_“Yeah, it was tough.”_ Jack then regales them with the story of how the six years old Sophie decides to give her bangs a late-night bathroom cut when he’s not looking, and the mess he had to clean up afterward. _“Mrs. Bennett only came back after eleven-thirty. It was brutal. But at least the kids had fun._ ”

_“Merida?”_ Rapunzel asks after a bout of chuckles. “ _You’re being quiet._ ”

“I, uh,” Merida grins sheepishly even though the brunette can’t see it. “I think I made the wrong turn somewhere.”

_“You what?_ ”

Hiccup straightens in his seat and checks their location, metal leg involuntarily bumping the glovebox with a dull _thunk_. “We were supposed to take that lane just now.”

“I got distracted, okay! It was that damn easter bunny scissors!” Merida whines, “ _Stop laughing, Frost!”_

_“You did say they’re open for twenty four hours, right? It’s okay,”_ Rapunzel soothes from over the phone, the angel. “ _There’s no rush._ ”

“Yeah, it’s just that we have to take the long way back to get to the right street,” Hiccup mumbles, checking the address and their surroundings as Merida slows down the car. “We might be back home at six at this rate.”

_“Oh, we’ve distracted you,_ ” Rapunzel says, sounding guilty. _“You know what, focus on the road, Merida. Tell us when you’ve found the place, and we’ll call you again! Jack, you too!_ ”

_“Yeah, sure,_ ” Jack snickers. _“Bye, Hiccup. Drive save, Bush Head._ ”

“Ass,” Merida mutters as she accelerates the car to another exit point, far ahead. Beside her, Hiccup shakes his head at the exchange.

“Hey, it’s fine, we’ll get ‘em burgers. I got distracted off the road too.”

Merida glances at him, “I guess calling those two was a bad idea, after all.”

“Not really, I had fun. Punz made Umbra sound interesting,” Hiccup looks out the window, “And it’s nice, listening to you guys like this, even though half of it was through static.”

For the second time of the night, it dawns on Merida.

“You need to drown out the thoughts, huh?”

Hiccup turns to look at her in surprise. “Y—yeah, I guess. Something like that.”

“Okay then,” Merida says, slowly. “Does going fast helps, too? I mean, I know you probably wanted me to hit over fifty just for the heck of it back then, but—”

“Yeah.” Hiccup suddenly looks shy admitting it. “It was nice. Kinda clears my head.”

“You should’ve said something about it, then!” Merida sighs, smacking her forehead. “Come on, is yer seatbelt still on?”

“What are you doing?”

“Getting my five stars,” Merida says, readying herself for another wind splash.

**X** **X** **X**

“Aaaand there it is,” Hiccup points at a gloomy architecture at the end of the road as Merida settles the car down Tartarus Street with a high pitched _screech_ , one hand gripping the overhead handle. She and Hiccup share a high five, celebrating after an initial struggle at getting the street right. 

The place itself might not be as eye-catching for a potential customer during daylight, but it has an impressive neon billboard over its roof that spells out _HADES’ WINGS_ visible from afar, and the smaller signs near the canopied windows say they’re open. It’s enough.

“Hey,” Merida says while circling the establishment looking for the entrance, the advertising posters along the outer walls catching her eye. “Let’s order their spicy wings as well.”

Hiccup tilts his head to the side, interest piqued. “I heard they broke the Scoville Scale with that one.”

“All the more reason to try it,” Merida gleefully makes the turn to the drive-thru lane. “Let’s eat it in the car and have a video call with Punz and Jack, if they’re still up.”

The digital clock on the dashboard blinks 01.45 AM. 

“Oh, man,” Hiccup laughs, wiping a hand to his face; a true, wide smile finally blossoming on his lips. “Iced coffee and spicy wings at two AM. I can already see my bladder hating me in the morning. This is a bad idea.” 

“Hey, what did I say about rule number three—”

“Four,” he corrects softly.

“You will eat what I gave you and you will be _grateful_.” 

_And you’ll feel better, damn it, you’ll feel better,_ Merida holds the unsaid aim of the entire ride behind her teeth, _feel better about whatever’s bothering you, about anyone’s that’s driving you to go into the night like this. You got me and Punz and Jack with the bad ideas to hold on to._

_So feel better. Please._

“Okay then,” Hiccup meets her eyes and smiles, something in his features softening. “I guess I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest: I wrote this by the seat of my pants (plus one (1) fact-checking) and edited it while half-asleep thanks to meds. so apologies if there are any mistakes throughout this burning trashcan
> 
> [EDIT] Hold on, i forgot to include some notes!
> 
> 1\. While i'm part of the folks who agree Merida and Hiccup will definitely bond over their strict parents (Elinor & Stoick), i also think there's a similarity between how Rapunzel has to relearn that her biological mother is Arianna and Hiccup adjusting to Valka re-entering his life. I think that's something only the two of them could bond about. that's also why Merida struggles so much about approaching Valka as a topic in this fic, because she couldn't fathom a parent suddenly entering her life like that
> 
> 2\. Hiccup may be a nerd, but he's also an adrenaline junkie of his own, hence the motorcycle ;) But oftentimes he got reckless with his bike, especially when he has lots on his mind
> 
> 3\. Yes, Umbra is a half-assed attempt for a mini town version of the Dark Kingdom. Eugene's simply visiting his dad for the weekend and brought punzie along bc it's been a long time since they visited, it's nothing too serious!
> 
> that's all, next up would be Hiccup's POV. thank you for reading this far, and any thoughts/concrit is welcome!
> 
> (also maybe come talk to me on tumblr @/risoris to scream about these kids 😄)


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